Can body making machine



March 3, 1942. N; PELosl CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE Filed Aug. 22, 1940 BY @Mam (2 Patented Mar. 3, 1942 CAN Bony MAKTNG MACHINE Nicholas Pelosi, Newark, N. J., assignor to American Can Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation ofNew Jersey Application August 22, 1940, Serial No..353,767 v 3 Claims.

VThe present invention relates to can body making machines and has particular reference to devices which permit the body forming horn to float without 'pinching the bodies as they move along the horn. This is an improvement on the can body maker disclosed in United States Patent 2,169,311, issued August 15, 1939, to M. E. Widell.

In the manufacture of can bodies made of sheet bre or the like material, a blank of the fibre stock is usually folded around a forming mandrel or horn to give the finished body its proper shape. In a continuous operation machine the side seam edges are secured while the body is still on the horn. In order to discharge or strip the finished body off the end of the horn this end of the horn must necessarily be of an unsupported or floating nature. Y

Where the horn has a long overhang it has been found that considerable shifting is encountered through vibration in the machine and again where heat is used on the body, the horn sometimes warps and thus shifts out o'f center. Such movement of the horn pinches the can bodies against the usual side guides in the ma-I chine and thus prevents proper advancement of the bodies along the horn and prevents the proper discharge of the bodies from the end of the horn.

The instant invention contemplates overcoming these difficulties by providing a floating member on the horn which keeps the bodies in proper position relative to the body side guides and which remains substantially stationary so that the horn may shift within it without pinching or pressing the body against the side guides.

An object therefore of the invention is the provision in a can body making machine of afloating member for a'body forming horn wherein the member is movable relative to the horn so that it may be confined to a predetermined position in the machine while permitting the horn to shift relative thereto and thereby prevent binding of the bodies on the horn as they are advanced therealong.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure l is a sectional view taken longitudinally of a can body making machine embodying the instantinvention, parts being .broken away; and

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail taken substantially along the line 2--2 in Fig` 1.

As a preferred embodiment of the invention the drawing illustrates principal parts of a can body making machine of the character disclosed `in the above mentioned Widell patent.

In such a machine flat fibre can `body blank are advanced in a horizontal position along the top of a' bed-Il which may be a part of a machine main frame l2. Advancement of the blanks is preferably brought about in a step-bystep movement by feed ,dogs I3 carried in a pair of spacedl and parallel reciprocating feed bars IQ which operate in grooves l5 formed in the top of the bed and which extend longitudinally thereof. The feed bars are actuated in any suitable manner in time with the other moving parts ofthe machine. l

During their advancement along the bed Il, the body blanks are moved along and under a stationary body forming horn or mandrel i8. The drawing illustrates Aa rectangular shaped horn having a bottom flange i9 and a top flange 2l forming` a shape for a container of square cross sectionz Passageways 22 are provided in the horn for the circulation of a heating inediurn if lt is desired -to maintain the horn in a heated condition. y

The horn IB is preferably suspended in spaced relation to the top of the bed II so the blanks may pass under it and is secured to a pair of overhanging brackets 23 which are bolted to the bed. The brackets are located adjacent the inner end of the horn so that its outer end will be unsupported and free of obstructions to permit discharge of can bodies therefrom.

As a blank passes under the horn it is folded upwardly around the horn to form a Ushaped partially made can body. This is preferably done by wing elements located adjacent the supported end of. the hom at a bending station-25 as disclosed in the above Widell patent.

To` maintain the. upright portions of the U-shaped blank in position against the horn i8, stationary guide rails 26 are provided adjacent the horn. These guide rails are secured to the main frame of the machine and extend along the horn to its outer end. They'effectively guide theY partially made container and maintain its desired shape.

At a subsequent station the upright portions of the U-shaped container body are folded down -over the top of the horn so that they overlap each other to provide a container side seam 2l (Fig. 2). This side seam has its overlapped sections glued together and such a joint is made by a bumping hammer 28 and an anvil 29 which are disposed i adjacent opposite sides of the horn at a bumping i container bodies against the side guides 26 when the unsupported end of the horn vibrates or warps laterally as when heated, the horn is formed with a floating member which extends between the guide rails and which remains stationary while the horn'shifts relative thereto. This floating member comprises a at plate 35 which rests on top of the hornin a recess 36 formed in the horn at the bumping station. The plate is retained against longitudinal displacement by a shoulder 31 (Fig. 1) which is formed in the horn and by a stop plate 38 which is secured to the outer end of the horn.

The outer longitudinal edges 4| of the floating plate 35 are rounded oi where they engage the inner surface of the container body and the distance across the platel from edge to edge is exactly the inside dimension of the container body.

i Thus the bcdy will be'held to size during the side gaged. These grooves are deep enough to allow considerable play between the bottom of the grooves and the outer edges of the horn flange.

Hence when the horn shifts sidewise or later- .l ally the flanges 2| will move in the grooves M of the floating plate 35 and thus permit the plate to remain stationary. This prevents the plate from beingforced laterally to bind the container body and hence'permits the body to pass freely between the guide rails 26 and the outer edgesY 4| of the plate without being pinched or otherwise retarded.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes maybe made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention ,or sacrificing all of its material ad- `Vantages, the form hereinbefore described being I claim:

1. Ina can body making machine, the combi' nation of feeding devices for advancing can.

gbodies along a predetermined path of travel through the machine, a forming horn unsupported at one end for the can bodies, guide members adjacent said horn, and a floating horn element forming a part of said horn for supporting said can bodies, said horn being freely movable relative to said horn element so that the latter will remainl stationary relative to said guide members even when the horn shifts, thus preventing pinching of the can bodies between the guide members and the horn during their passage therealong.

2. In a can body making machine, the combination of feeding devices for advancing can bodies along a predetermined path of travel through the machine, a forming horn unsupported at one end for the can bodies, guide-members adjacent said horn, and a floating plate carried on said horn and movable relative to it over which portions of the body are folded and se-` cured together, the longitudinaledges of said plate extending beyond the sides of said horn and toward said side guides so that the horn may shift relative to the side guides without moving the floating plate thus preventing binding of the can bodies against the guide members during their passage therealong.

3. In a ca'n body making machine. the combination of feeding devices for advancing can bodies along a predetermined path of travel through the machine, a forming horn unsupported at one end for holding the can bodies during their advancement, guide members adjacent said horn, and a oating plate carried on said horn over which portions of the body are folded and secured together to complete the body, said plate having longitudinal edge portions which maintive to the plate so that the horn may shift transversely of the machine without effecting movement of the plate thus preventing any jamming of the bodies against the guide members while `they are fed therealong.

NICHOLAS PELOSL 

